Arguments for and against vaccinations have grown in the national conversation as 12 states are currently battling an outbreak of measles. A recent Indiana trial court decision in a custody dispute demonstrated that disagreements over vaccinations also happen within families.
An Indianapolis mother, who was previously found to be in contempt of court for trying to circumvent the custody agreement that required her daughter be vaccinated, was found to have “knowingly and willfully” violated an Indiana Court of Appeals order that gave the father the sole ability make decisions about vaccinating the child.
A mother trying to further her education without a stable income lost her appeal to keep custody of her son after she twice left him unattended due to substance abuse but was granted her request to make the costs of her case a public expense.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a custody order when it found the trial court failed to enter appropriate findings and improperly considered a father’s military service in its determination.
Three Tippecanoe County minor children age 5 and younger who were cared for by their father after they were found home alone in their mother’s home should not have been adjudicated children in need of services, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday in reversing the juvenile court.
Current federal and state law generally defers to a parent’s judgment when it comes to grandparent visitation, with the United States Supreme Court ruling that the right to rear a child as desired is among the most fundamental rights of parents. But a bill filed this year in the Indiana Legislature would give both grandparents and great-grandparents another avenue to obtain standing to petition for visitation.
Indianapolis attorneys Joe Delamater, a criminal defense lawyer at Razumich & Delamater PC, and Kiamesha Colom, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, encountered confusion, frustration and ultimately heartbreak during the course of a few months when they became foster parents to a baby boy. Now they are pushing for changes to state laws they say will balance the system so the right results happen for kids.
The Indiana Court of Appeals revoked a man’s protective order against the mother of his child when it found that her excessive messaging in a 24-hour period did not constitute stalking.
A Marion County father has lost his appeal of a trial court’s child support order, failing to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he should have been credited for make-up parenting time he was exercising after his ex-wife began prohibiting him from seeing their child.
A Florida mother can continue with an Indiana custody dispute with the father of her teenage daughter after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a default judgment against her. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik used the opinion to caution trial courts against issuing default judgments in custody cases where a parent shows good cause for a continuance.
No reasonable attorney would have considered a stepmother’s visitation petition filed in a court other than that of the mother and father’s custody case to be justified or worthy of litigation, according to the Indiana Court of Appeals. The court affirmed dismissal of the case and an award of attorney fees to the mother.
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed a trial court’s order granting a New Jersey mother’s motion to dismiss a custody petition filed by her children's father, who now lives in Indiana.
A mother who lives in Maryland but whose child lives in Hamilton County has lost her bid to relocate the child to the eastern state, with the Indiana Court of Appeals finding that awarding physical custody to the child’s Indiana father was in the child’s best interests.
Two times a year, the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the Indianapolis Bar Association organizes a Paternity Court Mediation Day where volunteer attorneys try to help fighting parents reach an agreement about the care of their children. The cases are selected by the court and deal with issues that arise after paternity has been established — custody, parenting time and child support.
A bill that would have given immunity to guardians ad litem and court appointed child advocates stalled in the Indiana House, but other measures covering foster parents and placing new requirements on the Indiana Department of Child Services all passed through the Statehouse with little or no opposition.
In a ruling on a contentious divorce case that involved parties “exploiting the judicial system to its fullest extent,” the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the provisions of the Sullivan Circuit Court’s dissolution order.
In a case a judge said represents “how substance abuse is savaging the familial bonds within Indiana and around the country,” the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the adoption of a southern Indiana child without the mother’s consent after finding the mother’s substance abuse made her unfit.
A Marshall County child will now be in her father’s care after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the impact of her mother’s stroke made a change in custody necessary for the best interests of the child.
An Oklahoma couple seeking custody of a child with ties to both the western state and Indiana have lost their Hoosier appeal, with the Indiana Court of Appeals determining an Indiana trial court properly exercised jurisdiction and awarded custody of the child to his mother.
As attorneys, we can only counsel our clients, and we cannot always control their actions. But hopefully, we can help them understand how their actions may impact their children, even indirectly. Parents need to be careful not to place their children in the middle — and not only with words, but by their actions.